Iconic Noosa? The law is an ass

Noosa councillor Russell Green says the government has reneged on repeated promises to adopt recommendations for the iconic legislation.

Noosa's planning and environment chairman Russell Green is ready to turn his back on the iconic legislation, saying a Brisbane-based panel appointed by the government cannot be trusted to make decisions for the shire.

The government is refusing to budge on its plan to give an external assessment panel the final say on development applications in parts of the state deemed to be iconic under the new laws.

Deputy premier Paul Lucas said the “expert and independent” panel would ensure consistency.

Mr Lucas has rejected a request to delay the passage of the legislation until after the local government elections on March 15.

He said the legislation would allow up to two local councillors to sit on the panel but it “would not be a panel comprised of local people”.

Mr Green said the government had reneged on repeated promises to adopt their recommendations for the iconic legislation and this was the end of the line.

“Three years ago we were told there would be no forced amalgamations, now we’ve been forced to amalgamate despite the overwhelming majority of residents being against it and once again we’re seeing the state government riding roughshod over the community’s wishes,” Mr Green said.

“Premier Anna Bligh made big, bold statements on December 29 that Noosa could have whatever it wanted and now we see those statements are not worth the ink on the paper.

“We have gone in there with good intentions and worked through this process in good faith but at what point do you actually walk away?

“Personally, I think we’ve reached that point.”

Deputy mayor Frank Pardon said the government’s panel proposal was a power grab, aimed at centralising planning decisions in Brisbane.

Mr Pardon said the iconic legislation had been discussed at last Thursday’s general meeting and Noosa Council had “virtually got out of the tent”.

“It’s about power and control from the state right across the state,” he said. “Councils will be just community committees the way they’re going, because they’re being disempowered.”

However, mayor Bob Abbot said the government had moved substantially on some aspects of the legislation and he would continue fighting to get a better deal for the shire.

Mr Abbot said the council had not asked for the legislation but it would happen “whether we want it or not”, and it made more sense to continue discussions in the shire’s best interests.

“We have great concerns that the wrong people will be appointed to the panel, but whether we give up or not, it’s still going to happen,” he said.

“I would like to think that we’re in there until the last second trying to get the best deal possible and we’ve come a long way since discussions began.